If your ideal chocolate chip cookies have chewy centers, crispy edges, rich toffee notes, and pockets of melty chocolate, then these toffee sourdough chocolate chip cookies are about to become your new favorite. The sourdough discard adds a subtle tanginess that balances the sweetness and gives these cookies an extra depth of flavor. Meanwhile, nutty brown butter enhances the buttery richness of the toffee bits, creating a sweet-salty complexity that keeps you reaching for just one more.
Taking inspiration from my ultimate sourdough oatmeal cookies with pecans and toffee, I added a cup of toffee bits to these chocolate chip cookies, creating one of my all-time favorite recipes. I actually tested these cookies long before I launched the blog, and so many people were already asking me for the recipe before I had even finalized it. Every version I tested has been a hit – they disappeared quickly at potlucks and birthday parties – even the ones I didn’t yet consider perfect.
Key ingredients
🍪 These special sourdough chocolate chip cookies get their ultimate texture from Heath English Toffee Bits. When the toffee bits melt in the oven and then resolidify as the cookies cool, they create pockets of chewy crispy buttery toffee goodness. As far as I know, there is only one brand of toffee bits you can buy at the store. I’ve seen them at Walmart, Stater Bros, and Vons in my area. I know they are a bit difficult to find but your effort will be rewarded 10 fold.
Other key ingredients:
- Brown butter – browning the butter removes water in the butter to make room for the extra moisture you’ll add in the form of sourdough discard. This is not only necessary to minimize water in the cookie dough, it also adds nutty toffee-like notes that pair perfectly with the toffee bits in these cookies.
- Sourdough discard – or ripe sourdough starter will also work. This adds that subtle tang to your cookies, as well as moisture. My sourdough discard is always at 100% hydration.
- Egg yolk – I use only egg yolks in all of my sourdough cookie recipes to make them extra chewy. Removing the egg whites also minimizes water in the cookie dough, allowing you to add more sourdough discard instead.
- Flake sea salt – it may not seem like much, but a sprinkle of flake sea salt adds a pop of savoriness that balances the sweetness and makes all the flavors taste brighter.
How to make toffee sourdough chocolate chip cookies
Follow along visually as we make these sourdough chocolate chip cookies with toffee. Or you can skip ahead, detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
1. Make brown butter
Make brown butter and let it cool in your stand mixer bowl ahead of time. It’s okay if it resolidifies.
2. Cream butter with sugar
Beat cooled brown butter with brown and granulated sugar for 2 minutes until light in color.
3. Add remaining wet ingredients
Beat egg yolks, sourdough discard and vanilla with the butter/sugar mixture for another 2 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Don’t be afraid to beat this for a long time to emulsify the mixture well.
4. Incorporate dry ingredients
Typically, you’d want to mix the dry ingredients together first and then add it to the wet mixture. But my lazy girl method is to sift flour and baking soda directly into the bowl (save a dirty bowl), then sprinkle the kosher salt on top. I found this works just fine! You don’t need to mix the dough super thoroughly in this step, stir until just combined is good enough.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits
This step will further mix the dough, that’s why it’s not necessary to mix super thoroughly in step 4. Also, over-mixing cookie dough is an absolute no-no.
6. Divide the dough and chill
I like using my 3-tablespoon cookie scoop to divide the dough right away while it is still soft, then chill them for at least an hour.
7. Bake, reshape and cool
Bake 6 cookies to a tray. These do spread quite a bit so use a large cookie cutter or a spatula to reshape them into perfect circles as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool on the baking sheet for 15 mins to allow them to set further before moving them to a wire rack.
Baker’s tips
- For these toffee chocolate chip sourdough cookies, chilling the dough is absolutely non-negotiable. They do spread more than typical chocolate chip cookies so allowing them to rest in the fridge will curb some of the spreading while letting the flavor develop giving you a much more complex and delicious cookie.
- It’s always a good idea not to over bake cookies when you’re trying to acheive that chewy texture with a soft and gooey center. Be sure to take them out of the oven when the center is still slightly underbaked and allow the residual heat to finish baking your cookies.
- However, if you want these to be more crispy all over, you can bake them a minute or two longer.
Sourdough Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
- Cookie Scoop
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 227 grams (8 oz) unsalted butter brown
- 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 150 grams (¾ cup) brown sugar light or dark brown
- 2 large egg yolks
- 10 grams (2 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
- 100 grams sourdough starter discard 100% hydration
- 270 grams (2 cup) all-purpose flour
- 5 grams (¾ teaspoon) kosher salt
- 6 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 180 grams (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chip
- 157 grams (1 cup) toffee bits
- Flake sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter – Heat unsalted butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty – about 8 to 9 minutes – take it off the heat and immediately pour it into the stand mixer bowl and allow to cool.227 grams unsalted butter
- Beat in sugar – Once the butter has cooled down, add both granulated sugar and brown sugar to it. Beat with the paddle attachment for at least 2 minutes until light in color.100 grams granulated sugar, 150 grams brown sugar
- Incorporate sourdough starter – Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, sourdough starter and continue beating for at least another 2 minutes until fluffy and creamy.2 large egg yolks, 10 grams pure vanilla extract, 100 grams sourdough starter discard
- Add dry ingredients – Sift the flour and baking soda directly into the wet ingredient mixture in the stand mixer bowl. Sprinkle kosher salt on top and stir until incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.270 grams all-purpose flour, 6 grams baking soda, 5 grams kosher salt
- Add mix-ins – Add the chocolate chips and toffee bits, stir to distribute evenly. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure good distribution of chocolate chips and toffee bits throughout the cookie dough.180 grams bittersweet chocolate chip, 157 grams toffee bits
- Scoop and chill – Portion the cookie dough with a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop and place them on a lined baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days, before baking. Chilling the dough is essential to allow the butter to re-solidify, the flour to hydrate and the flavor to develop. Don’t skip!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake – Place 6 dough balls on a baking sheet, and bake 1 batch at a time for about 14 minutes and 30 seconds, until the cookies start to turn golden but the middle is still slightly underbaked.
- Cool – Remove the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle some flake sea salt on top if desired and allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet to finish baking from the residual heat for 10-15 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. To get perfectly round cookies, scoot the edges toward the center using a spatula or a large round cookie cutter, right when the cookies come out of the oven and are still soft.Flake sea salt for topping
Notes
- Storing cookie dough: The cookie dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 months, once portioned.
- Baking frozen dough: You can bake frozen dough balls without thawing, simply increase baking time by 1 to 2 minutes.
- Storing baked cookies: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
